1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to animal muzzles and head restraints and more particularly to the muzzling of biting animals, in particular canines and felines, in a manner that prevents injury to treatment personnel and animal alike.
2. General Background
As is generally known, many animals kept as pets, especially cats, are widely known to be quite fierce when being restrained. Such animals are required by law to undergo veterinary checkups for immunization against various diseases, as well as the fact that a pet owner generally brings these types of animals to veterinarians for routine treatment. It is known that animals such as dogs and cats become extremely nervous and agitated in the presence of unknown surroundings and strange smells. Accordingly, the animal may attack or strike the veterinarian, the owner, or various other staff members, thereby causing injury and, thus, subjecting the practitioner to liability. In order to prevent such injuries, many veterinarians employ conventional muzzles that are well known and accepted within the prior art. It has been determined that a pet owner becomes extremely concerned in regard to the safety of their animal when such muzzles are employed in their presence since extreme force is often used in their application. Many muzzles existing in the prior art are relatively complicated, unattractive devices and create a great feeling of apprehension in regard to the pet owner when employed to restrain the pet. Examples of such typical muzzles may be obtained by reference to U.S. Pat. No. 4,252,086, 5,136,984 and 5,299,531. Essentially, the prior art muzzles consist of a sleeve of some type and plurality of straps and restraining members which are placed about the snout of the animal and secured about the head of the animal by means of a plurality of fastening devices. As indicated, many pet owners seriously object to the use of such muzzles and, hence, make it difficult for the veterinarian to optimally and adequately administer to the physical needs of the animal without sustaining injury. Since pet owners often assist in controlling the animal while being examined by the veterinarian, the application of such devices often causes the animal to inflict injury to the pet owner thus increasing veterinarian liability.
As acknowledged by the prior art patents, there are few known muzzles which are available in the marketplace to restrain or to muzzle a cat. The necessity of doing so is apparent as cats have extremely sharp teeth which are capable of inflicting severe injuries.
Many prior art muzzles severely restrict the breathing capability of animals as result of the muzzle rotating relative to the animal's head . This is an extreme disadvantage in a veterinary examination since the animal, due to anxiety and so on, breathes more rapidly due to restriction by the muzzle. Therefore, it stands to reason that a muzzle should allow the animal to breathe as optimally as possible and be applied rapidly and easily without undue stress.
According to Schenek in U.S. Pat. No. 4,252,086, it is further desirable for the muzzle to be capable of covering the eyes of the animal as well as its mouth, especially in the case of felines, to produce a calming effect on the animal. However, in fact, such devices have been found to further traumatize the animal and are extremely difficult to administer, severely restrict breathing, and prevent visual inspection of the animal's eyes and head during the examination.
Other devices are used for animal body restraints and specifically designed for cats such as is disclosed by Salvatore in U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,478. However, such devices, while confining the animal generally, only provide access to the animal's head. Other devices which utilize a wire cage arrangement to fully contain the body fail to allow access to the animal's front feet without exposure to its sharp teeth.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved muzzle or head restraint which allows for fast and easy application, better breathing and head control while allowing visual head examination. The device thereby avoids the many disadvantages associated with prior art muzzles.